Fastening device



AP .30, E940. .L H. 'Rom-HEL. LFASTENI1-IG lDEVICE Filed Feb. 2, 19:58l

NVENTOR YPatented pr. 30, 1940 narran s'mrss guasti PATE 'r orsi-sa i FASTENMG DEVICE application February a, 193s, serian No. atasco This invention relates to fastening means for releasably connecting two members together face to face, such for example as a trim or finish panel and a support, and to the method and means of applying a fastener element to one of the members. The fastening means embodying the invention are capable of use in various relations, such as in connection with the application of finish trimto the interior of motor vehicle bodies, or for any use Where a surface is to be covered by upholstery material or other fabric to conceal or cover the supporting medium or surface.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved fastening means in which the elements thereof are preferably although not necessarily capable of being stamped or punched from sheet metal at'relatively low cost, the construction being relatively simple and inexpensive and the cooperating elements being so construct-l ed as to permit ease and emciency in the assern` bly of parts and attachment of the members face to face.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved fastening means comprising a fastener element adjustably mounted on the support therefor, such as the foundation sheet of a trim panel or molding, the construction being such that any misalignment of the fastener element with respect to the aperture in a. frame member in which the fastener is to be secured is automatically overcome upon forcing the fastener through the aperture into attaching position.

A further object is to provide an improved' fastener element having spring gripping members capable of rmly gripping the side edges of an aperture into which the fastener is inserted and also having means effective to firmly grip or 'bind the base of the fastener against the foundation or supporting member for the fastener, whereby when the trim panel or other trim member is attached to a support the fastener will be y rmly and tightly held against movement relatively to the foundation member as well asthe `support to which the panel is attached.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fastener means including a fastener element adapted to be inserted into preformed slots or openings in the foundation sheet, the improved construction being such that the fastener is capable of lateral adjusting movement on the foundation sheet and in the plane thereof to overcome misalignment of the fastener and its entering aperture in a fixed support due to manufacturing tolerances or inaccuracies.

Other objects of this invention .will appear in practiced or carried out in various Ways.

(Ci. Zit- 73) Fig. 1 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken through a pillar or frame member of a motor vehicle door illustrating a trim panel and fastener element in attached position, an enlarged View of the latter being shown.

Fig. 2 is a section taken substantially through l@ lines Z-L-Z of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken substann tially through lines 3l 3 of Fig. 2 looking in the 15,

direction of the arrows. l

Fig. ll is an enlarged perspective view of a fastener element. p

`Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of a trim panel illustrating the fastener 20 installed thereon.

Fig. 6 is a plan View of the structure shown in Fig'. 7 is a perspective view somewhat simil to Fig. 5 butillustrating the method of installing 25 the fastener element.

Figs. 8 and 9 are views somewhat similar to Fig. 1 but illustrating successivesteps in the attachment of the trim .panel and fastener to the support, this view particularly illustrating the 30 automatic adjustment of the fastener to overcome misalignment of the cooperating parts.

Fig. 1li is a view similar to Fig. 1 but illustrating a slight modification in the construction of the aperture in the support within which the 35 fastener is attached.

Before explaining in detail the present invention it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated go in the accompanying drawing, since the inven tion is capable of other embodiments and of being Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose 5 of description and not of limitation, and it is not intended to limit the invention claimed herein beyond therequirements of the prior art.

As will be understood, the fastening means 50 comprises cooperating elements carried by two members adapted to be releasably connected together face to face. Various kinds of members may be used and in the drawing these members,

by way of example, are exemplified by a trim 55 panel and a support of a vehicle body, such as the door or body framing thereof.

In the drawing A represents the pillar or frame member of a motor vehicle door having at the inner side of the dor an inturned metal flange I0. It will be understood that the flanging I of the door frame usually extends along the sides and bottom thereof and is provided at suitable intervals with a series of apertures II punched in the metal of the flanging, the opposite side edges Ila of which are adapted to be engaged or gripped by the legs or prongs ofv a fastener element constructed in accordance with the present invention.

'I'he inner face -of the door A is adapted to be covered by a trim panel B which, as shown, may comprise a foundation or backing sheet I2 having its inner face covered by means of a trim fabric I3, there being a layer Il of suitable padding or wadding material interposed between the inner face of the foundation sheet I2 and the trim fabric I3. It will be understood that the trim panel B is' ordinarily shaped to t against the inner face of the door and to conform to the configuration thereof. At predetermined spaced points corresponding approximately to the apertures II in the door frame the foundation sheet I2 is cut out by a punch operation to provide a pair of substantially L-shaped openings or slots I5 which are spaced apart and which have their leg portions of greatest length in substantial parallelism, see Fig. 7. .The slots 15 are separated or spaced apart by an intervening strip or tongue I6 formed from the material of the panel. As will be explained hereinafter, the L-shaped. openings or slots are of greater length than the width of the base portion of the fastener element and the bridge piece or tongue I 6 islikewise of greater length than the width of said base portion and also narrower than the length of said base so as to permit adjustment in four directions of the fastener element relative to the panel to comensate for any variations in the relative location of the fastener and its entering aperture II.

Referring particularly to Fig. 4, the fastener element C of the present embodiment of the in- -vention comprises a base portion I1 which, as

shown, is oblong. The base or body portion II at opposite ends thereof is turned downwardly to provide spaced abutments I8 and then turned outwardly to provide a pair of tongues or feet I9 which, as shown, extend at substantially right angles to the bridge piece or body portion I1 and lie in planes below and spaced from said body portion I1. Thus, the transverse bridge piece I1 is offset vertically from they flat elongated feet I9 and the bridge together with its down bent end. abutments I8 is slotted from end to end at 20 thereby in eect separating the parts I1 and I9 into two relative yieldable bridge members connecting the parts I9. i

The fastener element C is also provided with a pair of spaced upwardly extending spring prongs or legs 2| which are formed integrally from the metal of the base and are turned upwardly at an angle approaching a right angle.

Thus, as more clearly shown in Fig. 8, the spring prongs comprise upwardly extending somewhat diverging gripping portions 2 Ia` and inwardly and upwardly converging DOrtions 2lb. 'I'hese latter portions preferably terminate at their upper ends in parallel portions 2Ic which preferably lie in` substantially abutting relation so as to provide an entering point for the fastener in the aperture II.

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sheet I2 as clearly shown in. dotted lines in Fig. 6.

With the fastener in this position upon the panel it will be seen that the base-or body portion Il thereof loosely straddles the bridge or partition strip I6 of the foundation sheet and that the opposite ends of the feet I9 underlap the ends of the slots I 5 orV Ilia, dependent upon the position of the fastener in the slots, and also underlap the outer edges of the long slots. By reason of the fact that the base portionI'I of the fastener has a length which is greater than the width of the section I6, which the portion I1 straddles, adjustment of the fastener in a direction longitudinally of the base I1, i. e., transversely with respect to the tongue section I6, is permitted. This is illustrated by the arrows D in Fig. 6. By reason of the fact that the slots I5 and lia, as well asrthe tongue or partition I6, are longer than the transverse dimension or width of the fastener base or bridge piece I'I, the fastener is permitted to slide laterally and lengthwise in the slots as illustrated by the arrows E in Fig. 6.

Therefore, a fourfway adjustment or variation of the position of the fastener relative to its supporting surface or member is permitted, thus allowing the panel and/or the fastener element to be shifted upon application to the supporting member A to accommodate for any variation in the relative location of the openings II andl the fastener elements.

The depending abutments I8 `of the fastener are of only slightly greater depth or height than the thickness of the panel board I2 so that when the fastener is applied to the board. the feet I9 thereof will preferably lightly engage the outer or bottom face of the foundation.I sheet or board I2 and will lie substantially ush with said face thereby eliminating any substantial protuberance beneath the trim material, which is particularly undesirable in the event the padding layer I 4 is omitted.

By reference to Fig. 5 the diiferential in the longitudinal and transverse dimensions of the base or body I'I of the fastener, the-Lbridge section I6 of the foundation sheet and the slots or openings I5, lia thereof will -be apparent. This differential in the dimensions permits longitudinal and transverse adjustment in two directions at substantially right angles to one another of the fastener relative to the foundation sheet and in the plane thereof.

AsbestseeninFig.2each slot or opening II4 formed in the support A is preferably elongated and is somewhat longer than the width of the fastener prongs or gripping portions 2Ia. Consequently, an additional adjustment of the fastener prongs 2I relative to the side edges IIa of the aperture along the length of said edges is permitted.

Figs. 8, 9 and 1 in order to illustrate steps in dition which frequently prevails in practice. It

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will be seen that considerable variation -ln the location of the point 2Ic to the aperture is permissible, in other words a variation to an extent substantially equal to the width of the aperture Il is possible while still permitting installation of the parts. As the panel B is applied to the support A, see Fig. 8, the leading point Zic of the fastener enters the aperture il. The edges lia of the aperture will simultaneously engage the converging spring portions 2lb in the event the leading point Iflic initially centers in the aperture. In the event as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the leading point is off-center with respect to the aperture, one edge I la (the righthand edge in Figs.. 8 and 9) will first engage one side of the fastener 2i and as the fastener is thrust into the aperture the said edge ila will force the fastener laterally in the direction of the horizontal arrow in Fig. 8 until the fastener is centered. Further movement of the fastener through the aperture. as shown in Fig. 9, will result in the opposed edges ila compressing and springing inwardly the prongs 2lb until the edges i ia are grippingly engaged by the portions 2id as seen in Fig. 1. As the fastener is forced home from the position of Fig. 9 to the position of Fig. l, the resilient or spring prongs will be elongated due to the Contact of the leading points 2lc thereof and due to the fact that the preferred width of the aperture ii between the side edges Ha. thereof substantially corresponds to the distance between the bottom edges of the prongs or the width of the bridge portion il. Moreover, as the prongs 2l are compressed when forced between the side edges lia from the position of Fig. 9 to the position of Fig. l the upright gripping portions 2in will be tilted inwardly toward each other to a more nearly perpendicular position with respect to the base and since at this time the spring members 2i are loaded or under compression the portions tia by their expansion eort will firmly and tightly grip or bind against the edges iis.

It will also be noted that upon inward contraction of the prongs 2i in the direction of the horizontal arrow in Fig. 9, thereby tilting inwardly the portions 2id, the split portions of the bridge il-will be tilted or bent up relatively to each other thereby bending or bowing the feet portions i9 causing them to bite into or grip tightly the face of the sheet i2, as seen in Fig'. 1. In other words, compression of the spring prongs 2lb between the edges ila of the opening will distort the split portion i?, i8 and buckle or bow the portions i9 so as to bind them against the panel. As a consequence of the foregoing, it will be seen that the reaction eiort of the spring prongs under compression will cause Vthe upright gripping portions Zia to bind within the opposed edges lia of the aperture and at the same time the feet portions is will be' buckled or distorted to bind against the face of -the supporting sheet I2. Hence, with the fastener and panel installed, as shown in Fig. i, no substantial relative movement of any of the parts is possible, yet the panel may be readily detached from the support A by prying it loose.

The construction illustrated in Fig. l is subJ stantially the same as that hereinbefore described with the exception that in this instance the aperture li in the anging Ill ofthe support A is formed with irl-struck tongues or lugs Hb along the opposed side edges thereof. When the fastener is inserted through the aperture they gripping portions 2 I a thereof will grip or bind against 4the inturned edges I ib of the aperture. 'I'he construction of the parts is otherwise identical and the mode of operation and functioning of the parts are the same as .that hereinbefore described.

It will be understood that in one of the important aspects of the invention the fastener element may be detachably mounted upon its supporting'member in other ways than herein illustrated.

It has been found in production that fibre foundation sheets or boards have'a tendency to garp, shrink or expand under different condions. plied accurately at points which normally would register with the openings or apertures inthe supporting surface, it has often been necessary to remove the fasteners and insert them at different locations in `their foundation sheet in order to compensate for variations due to shrinkage, expansion or warping of the sheet. In many Thus, even though the fasteners are ap- I instances where the fasteners do not line up with the apertures installation of the panel results in bending or tilting of the fasteners to such an extent as to cause breakage thereof, thereby necessitating replacements at considerable expense due to loss of time and duplication of labor. Such unnecessary operations have obviously caused delay in the assembly methods and in :many instances, to avoid an unnecessary expenditure of time, entire panels have been discarded, thus materially increasing the cost of production by reason of such waste of materials and increase in labor expense. |lhese difliculties have been overcome by the present invention as a result of which a fastener means embodying novel and desirable characteristics has been provided.

I claim:

l. in a fastener device, a base comprising two substantially parallel coplanar members, a bridge piece spanning and connecting said members, said bride piece being in the form of a channehaving a transverse web portion and down bent end portions integrally joined to said members, and a pair of spring prongs extending outwardly and integrally from the opposite more remote edges of said bridge piece.

2. In a fastener device, a base comprising two substantially parallel coplanar members, a bridge piece spanning and connecting said members,

said bridge piece being in the form of a channel having a transverse web portion and down bent end portions integrally joined to said members, and a pair of spring prongs extending outwardly and integrally from the opposite more remote edges of said bridge piece, said bridge piece being slotted to provide relatively yieldable portions.

3. In a fastener device, a base comprising two substantially parallel coplanar members, a bridge piece spanning and connecting said members, said bridge piece being in the form of a channel having a transverse web portion and down bent end portions integrally joined to said members, and a pair of spring prongs extending outwardly and integrally from theopposite more remote edges of said bridge piece, said web portion and down bent end portions being split in a direction transverse to said members to provide relatively yieldable portions. y

e. In a fastener device, a base comprising two substantially parallel coplanar members, a bridge piece spanning and connecting said members, said bridge piece being in the form of a channel having a transverse web portion and down bent end portions integrally joined to said members, and a pair of spring prongs extending outwardly and integrally from the opposite more remote edges of said bridge piece,4 said prongs comprising gripping portions extending in diverging relation and terminating in converging portions, the latter terminating in'closely adjacent lead portions engageable upon compressing said prongs together.

5. In a fastener device, a base comprising a pair of spaced substantially parallel foot members adapted to engage against a face of a support when inserted through slots therein and installed in position, a split bridge piece spanning and integrally joining said foot members, and spring prongs extending outwardly and`integrally from the bridge piece and compressible to bow said foot members.

6. A fastener device comprising two spaced base members, a, split bridge piece spanning and integrally Joining said members, a pair of compressible spring gripping members extended outwardly and'integrally from said bridge piece.

7. A fastener device comprising two spaced base members, a gsplit bridge-piece spanning and integrally `ioining said members, ,and a pair of compressible spring gripping members extended outwardly and integrally from said bridge piece, said y bridge piece being in the form of a channel. Y 8. A fastener device comprising two spaced substantially parallel base members, a pair of spaced relatively yieldable bridge pieces spanning andintegrally joining said base members, and spring gripping members extended outwardly and integrally from the remote edges of said areaas'r bridge pieces and compressible to bend said base members. f

- 9. A fastener device comprising a pair oi spaced spring base members, a pair, of spaced spring bridge members connecting said base members integrally, and a pair of spring gripping members extended integrally from the bridge members, the gripping members being compressible to bend thc llidge members and in turn bend the base memrs. v

10. A fastener device comprising a pair of substantially coplanar spaced parallel base members, a split bridge member integrally connecting said base members, spring gripping means extended integrally trom the bridge member, the latter being distortable to transversly bend said bridge member and in turn bend said base members.

spaced parallel base members, a split bridge member integrally connecting said base members, compressible spring gripping means extended integrally from the bridge member and adapted to bend said base members when compressed.

12. A fastener device comprising a one-piece generally H-shaped base including two substantially parallel coplanar members and a transverse bridge piece connecting said members and oifset upwardly with respect thereto, and a pair of spring prongs extending outwardly and integrally from the opposite more remote edges of said bridge piece.

JOHN H. ROETHEL.

11. A fastener device comprising a pair of 

